On Monday, ESPN ran a segment centered around Ja Morant saying Michael Jordan would've been "just another superstar" in today's NBA.
The problem: Morant never actually said it.
While Morant did say that in a recent interview with Bleacher Report's Taylor Rooks that he would've "cooked" Jordan, the quote ESPN used came from Ballsack Sports, a satirical Twitter account that has close to 200,000 followers.
The tweet in question has over 1,700 retweets and 24,000 likes at the time of publishing.
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Ja Morant says Michael Jordan would be “just another superstar” in today’s game—says today’s talent is at all time high. pic.twitter.com/eAGTjfiFQS
— Ballsack Sports ® (@BallsackSports) July 10, 2022
It didn't take long for the segment to go viral. That led to Rooks sharing the video on Twitter, tagging ESPN, and confirming that Morant did not say Jordan would be "just another superstar." She also said there should be a correction issued.
he absolutely did not say this in the interview. and I can't believe it was broadcast that he did. there should be a correction issued for that. @espn https://t.co/F7x5Jt5r2Z
— Taylor Rooks (@TaylorRooks) July 11, 2022
Morant also caught wind of it. His response?
these people crazy 😂 https://t.co/HSwBEwcrdS
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) July 11, 2022
https://t.co/oBPqCl68A1 pic.twitter.com/k7mwwFw4eE
— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) July 11, 2022
ESPN's David Jacoby, who was the host of the segment, responded to Rooks directly and apologized to both her and Morant.
As the face of this I want to do three things:
— Jacoby (@djacoby) July 11, 2022
1) apologize in general
2) apologize to @TaylorRooks and @JaMorant
3) Give a big shout to “Matty Ice” for watching from a what looks like a liquor store https://t.co/A0GrBV9KgV
This isn't the first time Ballsack Sports has duped a company as big as ESPN with one of its fake quotes. Time will tell if it's the last.
